View Larger Image UAMS staff conducting blood pressure test

Hundreds Gather at UAMS-Sponsored Health & Wellness Expo

By Benjamin Waldrum

| More than 350 Arkansans attended the Health & Wellness Expo, held Oct. 30, at the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock.

The annual event, sponsored by UAMS and presented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, was rebranded from the Senior Expo to present health and wellness information for all Arkansans.

Laura Stilwell healthy cooking demo

Laura Stilwell demonstrates how to prepare a healthy meal of chicken and rice to an audience at the Expo.

Expo attendees took advantage of multiple free health screenings. UAMS staff and students performed 44 hearing screenings, 115 blood glucose screenings and 60 blood pressure and heart rate screenings. Fourteen COVID-19 vaccines and 22 flu vaccines were administered.

The UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging provided geriatricians to give free consultations throughout the day at the “Ask the Doctor” booths. UAMS Speech-Language Pathology Clinic staff conducted 25 voice, language and speech screenings.

“It is wonderful that the expo is now open to Arkansans of all ages,” said Jeanne Y. Wei, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. “It’s never too early to plan for your future health. It’s never too late to improve your current health. Please remember, health really is wealth.”

Visitor explores inflatable Mega Brain

Visitors explored the inflatable Mega Brain model to learn more about stroke and other brain injuries and disorders.

Among the UAMS services and medical specialties represented at the Expo with booths were geriatrics, the vascular center, AR-Connect, the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation for the Stroke Program and patient education, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the UAMS Health Heart Center and breast imaging.

Presentations made by UAMS physicians and staff included: “Mindfulness in the Face of Uncertainty” by Purushottam B. Thapa, M.D.; “Overcoming Heart Disease” by John Paul Mounsey, Ph.D.; “Tips for Preventing Memory Loss” by Jeanne Y. Wei, M.D., Ph.D.; and “From Our Kitchen to Yours: Healthy Cooking from AGEC” by Laura Stilwell.